Perks
by Medie
Summary: There are serious perks for Graham at Wolfram & Hart... (Season 5 fic)


Title: Perks  
Author: M.  
Rating: PG13  
Keywords: Graham, Fred, crossover. Alternate Universe  
Spoilers: Season 5 Angel  
Disclaimer: Don't own them.  
Summary: there are Job perks and then there are job perks  
Note: for the LJ Rare Pairing (Het and Slash) Challenge

"Perks"  
by M.  
-  
He awoke to pain. Searing pain along his left side to be exact. Disoriented, it took Graham a few minutes to realize where he was and, by that time, Fred had realized he was awake and reached his side. Seeing her smiling down at him relaxed him instantly and, with a groan, he settled back, his muscles protesting the momvement. "Ow." He muttered unnecessarily.

"Kinda hurts a lot, I know." Fred looked sympathetic, resting a soothing hand on his uninjured shoulder briefly before reaching for a hypodermic needle. She inserted it into the IV in his hand, injecting something into his system. "For the pain." She explained. "Don't worry, Wolfram and Hart's got some great healers on the payroll. They'll be down soon enough and magic that gash right out of there."

"Another one of the perks of working here?" He joked, twining his fingers with hers.

"Well, when the wounds are inflicted by a Hogarth demon and have all kinds of magical gunk floating around in 'em...yeah." Fred leaned over, checking the bandage on his side. "That's why it hurts like it does. They leave some kind of residue behind and that's what's causing all the pain. It's really messy of 'em."

"It's a bad habit demons have." Graham observed with a little grin. "Being really messy. Is why we try so hard to get rid of him." That made her laugh and he liked it when she laughed. Her eyes lit up with that sparkly look he loved so much. Working for Wolfram and Hart had been something he'd done some serious debating over. Back in the Initiative's day, they'd heard rumors of an organization like the law firm but had never been able to get close. When Angel had offered him the job of heading the LA Branch's Spec Ops unit, he'd explained it was due to Wolfram and Hart 's interference, buying silence. That knowledge hadn't put Graham's mind at ease at all about the job offer. What had, was the fact it was Angel running the branch. Once Graham had been able to get past the whole vampire angle, he'd gotten a pretty good look at the guy and what he'd discovered, he respected. If Angel was going to try to take the monster down from the inside, then Graham could get behind it.

When he'd taken the job, he hadn't really had much of an idea what actually working there would be like. He had the details of the job worked out pretty well in his head. That was something he got fine. But the ins and outs of working at Wolfram and Hart...now that was a whole other story.

Whatever he'd expected...he hadn't expected Fred.

Fred with her bright smiles, silly comments, and her impromptu visits. Though she really had no reason to be down on the level which the Spec Ops team called home, she invariably found her way down there. Visiting and chatting. After a while, as much as she could be found down there, Graham could be found visiting her in the lab. He had an engineering background and loved nothing better than, as Fred called it, tinkering with something. Fred, as he discovered, shared his love of tinkering and the duo became fast friends, messing around with device after device.

Exactly when their relationship had gone from creating the next new and improved demon killing device to meeting for lunch breaks and dinner after work...Graham didn't exactly know but he did know one thing for sure. Fred was the best thing that had come out of his accepting the job. The Senior Partners, the suspicious looks from guys on his team who'd been there pre-Angel, the risking his neck against things that'd've sent his Initiative comrades running for the hills...it was all worth it.

Fred was there when he went home at night.

"Whatcha thinking?" She prompted gently as he felt the drugs begin to take effect.

"Thinking about you." He responded thickly, feeling the pain ebb away. "That stuff works fast."

"Only the best for my guy." Fred teased with a little laugh. "So...." Tilting her head, she looked down at their joined hands. "What exactly where you thinking?"

"Well..." Graham grinned widely, bringing her hand to his lips. "Wondering how the hell I got this lucky."

"Oh yeah, real lucky." She countered with some mirth. "Working for the bad guys, not even able to trust your own team and..." She paused, as if searching for another example before triumphantly finishing with, "the dental plan's terrible!"

Fred looked so pleased with herself, her list of reasons, but Graham couldn't help laughing. Truth was it was worse than that but she wasn't really trying. Fred could talk circles around him when she wanted to. She didn't want to this time and he grinned. Fred would hate it if she knew he was thinking it but she really could be damn adorable when she wanted to be. She could be just about anything when she really wanted to be. Graham wasn't stupid, he knew she had some pretty horrific things in her past. Some she'd experienced, some she'd participated in, and some she just barely lived through. He was proud of her. Of how far she'd come. How much she accomplished.

His girl was a strong lady. A survivor.

"If you're gonna say I'm cute...you'd better not." She warned in her most ominous voice. "Remember, I control the painkillers."

Graham did his best to look terrified but, he looked about as scared as she did scary. "You wouldn't deny an injured man medicine now would you?" He tried a pathetic look and she giggled. "Didn't think so."

In response to his smug grin, Fred leaned over to warn in a soft whisper, "I would, however, make the recovered man sleep on the couch all on his lonesome."

He winced. "Ohhh...you're cruel."

"I am." It was her turn to be smug as she smiled loftily. "But, if you behave yourself, just as soon as your out of here..." Again she leaned over and, again, she whispered, "Cordy and I went shopping..."

His brows rose. Shopping? With Miss Chase? Dare he hope... "And where exactly..."

"Ohhh...that's a 'Secret'." The emphasis she put on the last word had an effect on Graham that put the drugs to shame. Who needed morphine when you had Fred?

"Where're those healers?" He protested, lifting his head to look. "Get 'em in here."

Fred laughed. "Patience, Patience, Graham...you'll be back on your feet before you know it."

The look he gave his girlfriend was scorching. "Who said anything about being on my feet?"

She blushed deeply and let go of his hand. "I'll, uh, I'll go call again. Make sure they're on there way. Can't have you, um, cooped up in here...we need the space." She all but flew to the telephone and Graham relaxed again, grinning.

There were job perks...and then there were job perks. This job had brought him the best damn perk he'd ever had...Fred.

And, to that thought, Graham had one comment...

"God, I love my job."

Finis


End file.
